The Los Angeles Lakers are entering an entertaining offseason where they will have to answer many questions. The 2022-23 NBA season wasn’t easy at all for them, but the Purple and Gold made the adjustments and ended up going all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Now, things could get even better if they land one of two stars this summer. For almost a year, they’ve been linked with Kyrie Irving and more recently, Trae Young was mentioned as a potential target for them. However, it seems like the team has made up its mind and has set its sight on somebody.
“I don’t think we’ll see D’Angelo Russell back with the Lakers, LeBron wants to fade more into the role as a secondary scorer and playmaker,” Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report recently claimed.
REPORT: There is more “smoke” over Kyrie to LA rumors than Trae Young, via @ChrisBHaynes.
“I don’t think we’ll see D’Angelo Russell back with the Lakers, LeBron wants to fade more into the role as a secondary scorer and playmaker.”
(https://t.co/WUAU5yoenw) pic.twitter.com/VeM3K5T4Z4
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 24, 2023
It seems like the driving force behind this approach is LeBron James, who already played with Kyrie Irving, winning a championship with the point guard in 2016. Adding Kyrie to the mix would release a lot of pressure from James’ shoulders and would make Irving and Anthony Davis the primary scorers on the team.
This appears to be a very ambitious plan, but the Lakers have reasons to believe they can actually land one of Irving or Young. The point guard is yet to make a decision on his future as the Dallas Mavericks loom, trying to figure out what’s next for Kyrie. He didn’t have the best first season in Dallas, and the team wants to run it back to bounce back.
As for Trae Young, he was mentioned in several reports that suggested he would be traded due to his bad relationship with former head coach Nate McMillan and his teammates.
In both situations, the Lakers have been named potential landing spots for these players, but it looks like they have a clear favorite. Or at least LeBron.
Lakers Can Bounce Back Next Season With The Right Moves
Following a season where they started 2-10 and became the first team to make it to the playoffs after such a terrible start, the Lakers turned the season around, used the play-in as a platform, and then ended up in the Western Conference Finals, first beating the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies and then the 2022 NBA champions, Golden State Warriors.
It all ended with the Denver Nuggets, but the Lakers had an incredible run, and things could get better next season. They will see players go and some stay, and by adding the right pieces, these Lakers could be an even bigger threat to the rest of the league.
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